Butterfield in The Star Magazine

Many MBCA members can tell you that a particular car got them hooked on the brand when they were young. Dr. Chuck Campbell is one of those people, but his love for Mercedes Pontons is exceeded by his love for a special place in South Carolina.

Butterfield Plantation is a 1800-acre wooded homeplace near the Savannah River in Allendale, South Carolina, about an hour's drive from this year's Mercedes Freude event. One day, about 60 of the attendees went to visit the historic Campbell family home to learn about Dr. Campbell's plans for the property.

"My great-grandfather came here from New Jersey," Campbell says. "He had been in the business of buying and importing fine lumber from Central America, and at some point it occurred to him that he should use some of this fine lumber on his own house! As the Depression was closing in on the world economy, he began to think about having a haven where his family could grow crops and raise livestock to weather the storm. He had a lot of foresight!"

A Southern Classic
The name of the Butterfield Plantation came from the founder's mother-in-law's maiden name.

"It had some resonance with him," Campbell explains. "He started to purchase and accumulate small tracts of land in this area. This place had been a series of small 40-acre farms. My great-grandfather had plans drawn up and assembled the workforce to clear the land and build the house. The lumber was milled over in Augusta and we think it was hauled here by barge. Some of it may have been harvested and milled right here."

The main house was built in 1929, and shows the hallmarks of the Craftsman era. With hardwood and clear pine floors throughout and the careful decor of a simpler age, the house is filled with character that sets a mood for the plantation. Campbell offers group accommodations at the seven-bedroom plantation house, and more in newer farmhouse and a selection of cabins close by.

In the late 1950s, the house and the plantation passed out of the Campbell family, and through a series of corporate and private owners. It was purely by chance that Dr. Campbell went looking for his heritage at just the right time.

"I was idly googling and I found that this place, Butterfield, was for sale," he explains. "I came down 24 hours later and started negotiations to buy it."

What about the Benzes?
When he repurchased Butterfield, Chuck Campbell was already a Mercedes fan. That story comes from another branch of his family tree.

"My maternal grandfather lived and worked in New York in the advertising business," Campbell relates. "He quit when he was about 60 and sold most of his belongings. Then he loaded my grandmother and himself onto a ship and went to Europe. When he got there he bought a Mercedes-Benz 180b Ponton in 1958. It was grey with a red interior. That car served them for 20 or 30 years. They stayed in Europe for about 10 years and had the car shipped home when they came back."

As his grandfather aged past his driving years, the car was passed down to Dr. Campbell. It worked its magic on him as well.

"I took the car down to Winston-Salem to drive my kids around," he says. "I would drive them to school, to soccer, and around in that vehicle. I love the smooth ride, because it's unlike any other car. Particularly if you're the passenger, it's very elegant. That car was rusty, though, and it was not repairable. It was doomed."

Then, talking about the car with his newly-minted son-in-law struck a chord.

"That conversation got me to thinking about how much the car meant to my daughter and to the grandkids," he says. "So, I joined the MBCA and found a vintage Ponton that reminded me of my grandfather's car and delivered it to them. They drive it around up in New York where they live."

Of course, you can't have just one. On the day the MBCA came to visit, Campbell had three Pontons and a 190SL on display.

"It's just coincidence that this farm has a car barn, and it's air-conditioned, and I have a car collection," he insists. "What you see now is an unhinged collection! I have them here and I take them out and drive them every couple of weeks."

Going Forward, Together
Butterfield and his vintage Mercedes-Benzes keep Campbell busy, especially as he works toward restoring the plantation's woodlands for hiking, contemplation, and maybe some bird hunting.

"I'm very much a project person," he says, "and I've always got to have a project going. I've waded through the car collecting project, and I've waded through other projects before this one, but this is obviously something that's going to last all my years. Hopefully we can get it to a place where my family can continue this in the way that I got it started."

That's heritage worth preserving.